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by fio13



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Dessert & Sweets, Established Relationship, Fluff, Homesickness, M/M, Post-Canon, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-03 17:04:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4108393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fio13/pseuds/fio13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One evening, Aoba comes back home from his German class, expecting to find an empty apartment only to hear loud sounds coming from the kitchen. From then on, his night takes a strange, but exciting turn.</p>
            </blockquote>





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**Author's Note:**

> This is a prompt from tumblr for [Noiz’s birthday week](http://noizweek.tumblr.com). The name of the prompt was ‘Sweet’, and it got me inspired to finish this piece I’ve started writing a few months ago.
> 
> Enjoy! 
> 
> P.S. Happy early birthday, Noiz! <3

Aoba entered the elevator of his building in a few hurried steps, letting out a loud sigh as he pressed the button of the topmost floor, a sound that was immediately blocked out by the noise of the elevator doors sliding shut. In an instant, the elevator shook and started to move upwards, and Aoba shifted his gaze towards his bag out of reflex only to see a small, blue head of his Allmate Ren peek out from it.

 “Aoba, are you okay?”

Gripping his plastic shopping bags a bit tighter, Aoba gave a small smile to his Allmate.

“I’m fine, Ren.”

“Are you sure? Your heart rate is more uneven than usual,” Ren pressed, and despite himself, Aoba heaved out another heavy sigh.

“Don’t worry. I’m just a bit tired. Maybe I could take a short nap before he arrives home…” Aoba said, muttering the last part of his sentence more to himself than to Ren as he glanced towards his coil to check the time. Since he had memorized Noiz’s working schedule completely by now, Aoba knew that he was supposed to get home in two hours’ time.

It was almost unbelievable that his long day was finally coming to an end. His German class was eventful as always, and the tempo they had been going at was extremely hectic, to say the least. Not that Aoba complained, of course; he loved learning the new language. Besides, it also kept him occupied while Noiz was busy with work.

When he put it into a better perspective, Aoba guessed that it wasn’t all that bad. Lately, his days consisted of going to class, doing a bit of shopping afterwards and exploring new shops downtown. If he felt adventurous enough, he’d try to use a new phrase or a word they had learned in class; he’d awkwardly interact with random shop assistants, and then after a while, he’d go back to their big, cozy apartment. After a quick rest, he’d prepare dinner so that it could be warm and fresh once Noiz came home from work. He could already picture that tired but grateful smile on Noiz’s lips the moment he showed up at the kitchen door, sitting down at their dining room table and eagerly eating whatever Aoba had made for them.

Aoba’s lips quirked at the corners the instant his lover’s face appeared in his mind. How could Aoba ever complain when he knew the brat worked almost twice as hard as him?

Now that he thought about it, his days in Germany were far from uneventful. Most of the time, something new and interesting happened during his day - it was unavoidable, since he was in a foreign country and was still trying to get the gist of the language, after all. He’d either make a new friend during class, or he’d discover a new electronic store while rummaging through busy German streets. Sometimes, a completely unplanned and ridiculous situation would occur, like the other day when their neighbors’ cat mistook Ren for a real dog. The cat ended up climbing the tree so high, Aoba was forced to help his owners take it down with an awkward smile as apologies in his heavily accented German rushed out of his mouth.

So, he couldn’t really say he was bored either. It was just that he was a bit…

Well, if he were to be completely honest with himself, the feeling he was getting right now was most likely one of homesickness.

 

It’s been a few months since they had last visited his hometown island. Even though he was talking to Granny and a couple of his other good friends from Midorijima on a regular basis, it was still not enough to satiate the longing he would feel towards his birthplace sometimes.

Luckily, Aoba had very little time to indulge in these gloomy thoughts, since the life he was leading with his boyfriend managed to fill the void in the best way possible. Whenever he felt exceptionally homesick, he would just pour all his energy into doing things with Noiz. And Noiz, being the clairvoyant, fast learning brat that he was, managed to figure out exactly what Aoba needed at the time in order to make him feel better – be it a relaxing bath, a spontaneous and usually adventurous date outside, or just a simple stay-in night during which they did nothing but laze around on their cozy couch, watching movies or playing games with a freshly delivered pizza on their lounge table.

As usual, the instant he started thinking about Noiz, he found himself feeling a bit more energetic. Once the elevator stopped on his floor, he quickly got out, a small smile finding its way on his lips once again. He was already feeling tons better by the time that he put the key into the lock of the apartment door, deciding that he didn’t need a nap after all - the determination to go straight to work once he entered the apartment was now fixed firmly in his mind.

However, the first few steps into the hallway told him that his plans for tonight would probably have to be a bit altered.

There was a loud noise of something that irresistibly sounded like multiple pots and pans falling on the floor. It seemed to come from the kitchen, almost succeeding in giving Aoba a heart attack. For a second, he thought that it was just a coincidence, but soon, the sounds were immediately followed by multiple loud, high-pitched beeps, and then there was a dead silence, as if nothing had happened at all and Aoba had merely imagined the entire thing in his head.

Carefully closing and locking the apartment door, Aoba discarded his shoes and a jacket, then hurriedly headed towards the kitchen with a small click of his tongue. He definitely didn’t expect Noiz to be home so early.

“Jeez, what is he up to now… Hey, Noiz?” Aoba’s confused muttering turned into a loud call of Noiz’s name as he got closer to their kitchen area, rolling his eyes once there was no reply whatsoever. He knew that the brat heard him the second he had stepped into the apartment. So the lack of response was a clear indicator that Noiz wasn’t expecting to be discovered and that all those noises he’d made were far from intentional. Aoba grinned widely in spite himself; he could easily envision the small trademark pout on Noiz’s face even before he could see it.

Of course, his mental picture proved to be spot on. There was Noiz standing in their kitchen with his face turned towards the stove, holding what looked like a large ladle in his hand with a huge, confused and dissatisfied frown engraved on his features. He was wearing slacks and a t-shirt, his hair messed up as if he didn’t even bother with combing it today, and there was something white and creamy looking on his nose. The three Usagimodoki cubes were actively flying around his head in panic, letting out another set of beeps once they realized that Aoba has entered the kitchen area.

“… So, what is going on here?” Aoba started conversationally, becoming increasingly curious as he took in the state of their kitchen. Usually clean and spotless, at this very moment it was almost unrecognizable to how Aoba remembered it. There were various dishes plastered around the working area, random smudges which Aoba guessed were from the flour, and there was a huge frying pan on the stove, filled with oil, though still not in use.

“…You’re home early,” Noiz offered helplessly, scratching the back of his head rather dejectedly.

Aoba couldn’t help but snort as he crouched down to pick up a few fallen pots, quickly discarding them into the kitchen drawer.

“Not really, I just didn’t do a long shopping today,” he replied, taking a napkin from the counter and wiping off the white mark from Noiz’s nose, smirking at his boyfriend’s pouty reaction. “…but seeing as you suddenly got inspired to use our kitchen here, maybe I should have,” he commented teasingly, then began to clean all the random stains around the kitchen area.

“That wouldn’t really be necessary,” Noiz retorted, his voice closer to his normal, aloof one as he started helping Aoba clean up the mess. “I already bought everything.”

“What for?” Aoba looked up from his task to stare at Noiz in curiosity. “And more importantly, why are _you_ home so early anyway?”

Noiz’s shoulders hung down a bit as he looked away, that awkwardness back onto his face, his brow creased.

“I took a day off work.”

“For _this_?!” Aoba gestured towards the still messy state of their kitchen in disbelief. He wasn’t really mad at Noiz – if anything, he was heavily amused – but hearing that he had skipped work today made him seriously consider whether he should scold him nonetheless.

“Kind of, but not entirely,” Noiz shrugged, his voice taking an odd tone, but he still sounded like he was sulking. Aoba was interested to know what was the real reason for his stay at home, but he didn’t really want to prod too much now, since he knew it’d take a while for Noiz to spill it out anyway.  Instead, he chose to focus on the situation at hand, giving another glance to the stove.

“So, what were you planning to make?” Aoba asked, now genuinely interested. It was rare for Noiz to willingly want to make something in the kitchen. Not that he disliked it, but considering how little time he had because of work obligations, nowadays he barely even managed to enter the kitchen aside from taking a breakfast that Aoba had made for him and giving him a goodbye kiss.

“Doughnuts,” Noiz finally admitted, his tone casual as he took one of the Usagimodoki cubes in his hand. “This guy helped me do it.”

Upon mentioning him, the green cube let out one proud beep.

“P! There were more than a million results of doughnut recipes! But in the end, Noiz chose—“

“That would be enough,” Noiz stopped the cube mid-sentence, who suspiciously fell silent the instant he said so.

Frankly, Aoba was now completely wrapped up in curiosity, but instead of acting on it, he stepped closer towards the stove with a new purpose.

“Then, let me help you out,” he said brightly, his wide smile confusing Noiz for a moment.

“Are you sure? I can--”

“It’s fine! Besides, I was planning on making something for dinner before you arrived from work anyway.” Putting on one spare apron, Aoba fixed his ponytail and clapped his hands together after offering another apron to Noiz.

“Let’s get to it then!”

Noiz stared at the apron in Aoba’s hand for a few moments, as if contemplating on whether he should refuse Aoba’s help or go along with it. But then, with one quick movement, he took the apron from Aoba and wrapped it around his neck.

“Okay.”

Suddenly feeling strangely pumped, Aoba got closer to the pot which was filled with what seemed to be an obvious mixture for the doughnuts.

“Ah, it seems like you have done the first step of the work,” Aoba hummed, inspecting the mixture. “Were you careful about following the instructions?”

“I was,” Noiz said with an unmistakable hint of pride in his voice. When he saw a skeptical look on Aoba’s face, he smirked.

“Don’t worry. I assure you it’s not poisonous.”

Aoba’s response was an undignified huff.

“…I didn’t imply anything like that,” he grumbled, taking a wooden spoon from the counter in order to check the mixture with it.

“Hmm, it definitely _looks_ right,” he murmured. He knew that Noiz was a natural genius when it came to learning all kinds of new things, so he believed that cooking wouldn’t be an exception either.

The amount and the look of the mixture both seemed to be accurate, at least when it came to how Aoba remembered it. Of course, he was far from an expert of doughnut making, but he had made them a couple of times before, under the supervision of Granny.

For one second, Granny’s stern but kind face as she gave him the instructions flashed clearly in his mind, and there was a small pang in his chest upon remembering this dear, distant memory.

“Should we continue then?” Noiz’s voice broke him from his nostalgic thoughts, and he quickly dismissed the feeling and got back to the present.

“Ah, sure.”

Then, they proceeded to add the remaining flour into the mixture and kneaded it until it was no longer sticky, eventually letting it stand in a small bowl for a while so that the dough could rise.

* * *

After an hour, Aoba pressed a finger into the dough, satisfied when he saw that the mark had stayed there, which indicated that it was good to go.

“It’s ready,” he declared, and Noiz nodded his head and got closer to the bowl, seemingly intending to take a piece of the dough so he could throw it into the pan.

“Ah, wait, that’s not what I meant!’ Aoba stopped him, and Noiz halted his movements, raising an eyebrow.

“What now?”

There was mild impatience in Noiz’s tone which made it obvious that he was eager to begin the process of frying, and this fact instantly urged Aoba to smile. 

“We should put a bit more oil in here and wait for it to heat up first. Can you do that?” Aoba asked as he opened the drawer again and took out a rolling pin. Noiz blinked only for a second before obeying; he put more oil into the pan just like Aoba had requested, then turned the stove on and set it at a lower temperature before stepping away so he could wait for other instructions.

“Also, we should roll the dough out, like this,” he said, sticking out his tongue in concentration as he placed the ball-sized lump on the table, then carefully evened it out with the rolling pin until it was fairly thin. He could feel Noiz’s gaze on him the entire time as he did this. 

“Now, we shout cut it evenly somehow before we place it into the pan. A cup or a water glass should do the trick…” he murmured, deep in thought as he contemplated which one he should take from the cupboard.

He turned to check if Noiz was listening only to see him tilt his head to one side upon hearing his suggestions, his eyes brightening with interest as he stared at him intently. Aoba could practically see question marks pop up above his head, as if Aoba was explaining some complicated mathematical formula rather than basic preparation for doughnut making; it looked downright comical.

Seeing this, Aoba tried his best not to smile, but Noiz was so damn cute as he stared at him with curiosity and a clear determination to learn. Curling his lips upwards, he took two water glasses from the cupboard and offered one to Noiz.

“Here, we’ll do it with these. We’ll make small circles in the dough with them to get the doughnut shapes, then carefully separate them and place the pieces inside the pan once they grow a bit,” he instructed, putting the glass into the dough and cutting into it until it formed a circle.

“Grandma usually does this with molds, but since we don’t have those--”

“Ah, _that_ was it,” Noiz suddenly muttered, as if remembering something upon hearing Aoba’s words. Aoba frowned in suspicion, but Noiz only started doing the same thing as Aoba did, only to the other side of the dough.

“I remember reading about it the instructions. It must’ve slipped off my mind since I focused on making the actual mix more than memorizing anything else,” he explained. Aoba squinted with his eyes, unconvinced, but he decided to let it go for now.

“It’s fine. You’ve done a great job so far,” Aoba said, producing one of his teasing grins as he patted Noiz’s shoulder with his free hand.

“Heh, now that I think about it, I’m kind of proud of you. Not only are you providing for the house, but now you’re making the food too. You’ve become a real adult,” Aoba noted playfully. Still, what he said about being proud of him was genuine nonetheless.

“It’s not a big deal,” Noiz said quietly, making the circle shapes with the glass faster than before. His brow was a bit furrowed now, as if he wanted to tell more, but was hesitant.

Picking up a hint, Aoba pretended to get absorbed in cutting the dough for a few moments. Then, he decided that it was time to ask about the thing that has been on his mind all along.

“Noiz?”

“Hm?”

“Why did you suddenly decide to make these?” he asked, apprehension and curiosity building in his gut. Noiz took a few seconds to reply, still working on the dough pieces, until finally he put the water glass down and simply said,

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Surprise me?” Aoba repeated, a bit confused. There was no real need for Noiz to do something like this; as far as he remembered, there was no anniversary or birthday in sight. “Why?”

“I thought it’d make you happy,” Noiz uttered, his voice seemingly the same as always, but there was a hint of tenderness in it that wasn’t there a second ago, and Aoba’s breath got caught in his throat upon hearing it.

Noiz couldn’t have noticed how Aoba felt these past few days, could he?

Stopping his actions for a moment, he looked at Noiz only to see him stare back, his features expressionless, but his gaze warm.

“But I _am_ happy already,” Aoba all but whispered, but Noiz shook his head.

“I know you are. It’s just…” he paused for a bit, looking away as if trying to find a proper word before shifting his gaze to stare at Aoba again. “You seemed a bit out of it lately, so I thought maybe it’s because you’re homesick, or something. It’s been a while since we last visited Midorijima, after all,” Noiz said, sounding uncertain, probably not even aware of how accurate his assumptions actually were.

Aoba’s heart started beating faster than usual, betraying him. 

“I could be wrong, but,” Noiz shrugged, continuing. “I figured that maybe if I ended up doing something that would be similar to how you live your life in Midorijima, you’d feel a bit better,” he concluded, looking rather awkward now that he has revealed the true purpose of his doughnut making.

In the beginning of their relationship, Noiz usually took a lot more time until he finally admitted what was on his mind, but nowadays, he has gotten much better at expressing himself.

And this was probably why his confession shook Aoba all the more.

His throat constricting, Aoba gently placed the glass on the counter. Before Noiz could turn around and continue with the task, he leaned forward and hugged him as tightly as he could, his face buried in his neck, making Noiz let out a barely audible gasp of surprise.

“… I can’t really say that you’re wrong,” Aoba said, aware that his voice was shaking lightly. “But don’t worry. The fact that you wanted to do something like that for me is already making me feel a lot better. I’m really happy. So…” he sniffed once, swallowing in order to shake off the bitter feeling of tears that threatened to spill. Then, after he calmed his emotions down, he gently lifted his head to stare into Noiz’s bright green orbs.

“Thank you for thinking of me.”

Noiz’s reaction was instantaneous. He sent him a small, barely noticeable smile, his eyes glowing with fondness as he lifted one finger and wiped the corners of Aoba’s eyes with it, effectively stopping the tears that had undoubtedly formed there.

“There’s no need to thank me,” he murmured, before moving his head forward and kissing Aoba on the lips. After pulling away, he added,

“If you’re happy, then I’m happy too.”

Aoba smiled a wide smile now, gripping Noiz’s hand with his own firmly, his vigor returning full force as he gestured towards the abandoned dough.

“Let’s finish this thing up then, shall we?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

* * *

 Half an hour later, Noiz and Aoba were sitting in the dining area, with their Allmates at their sides and the plate that was filled with fresh, tasty looking doughnuts.

“Well, time to try it, then,” Aoba said cheerfully, his stomach rumbling loudly as he eagerly stared at the food.

“Finally,” Noiz murmured, his face making his trademark, ‘time for food’ expression as he picked up one doughnut. Aoba did the same, biting into it, only to make a sound of approval at the sweet, sugary taste it left in his mouth.

“It’s delicious!” he exclaimed, munching away, and he saw Noiz do the same as he hummed, his eyes brightening. He clearly enjoyed the food too.

“Wanna try it, Ren?” Aoba said, and Ren’s ears instantly perked up.

“Sure.”

Aoba readily took out a few pieces of the doughnut so Ren could try it, laughing when Usagimodoki jumped up and down on Noiz’s side of the table, declaring that he wanted to taste the doughnuts as well.

Once he swallowed his bite, Noiz gave one incredulous, blank stare to the cube. “You _know_ you don’t have the parts to digest it, though,” he said dryly, clearly amused.

“P! Noiz is no fun! _No fun_!” Usagimodoki squeaked out indignantly, making it sound like it’s Noiz’s fault entirely, and Aoba instantly laughed out loud again.

“Maybe you should install those parts for him then,” Aoba suggested, too entertained for his own good.

“This certainly tastes good,” Ren announced, interrupting them. “But Aoba, doesn’t this taste seem familiar?”

“Hm?” Aoba brought his attention back to his unfinished doughnut, taking another bite to see for himself.

Then, it started dawning on him.

“Wait…”

Noiz stared at him in silence, now eating a second doughnut.

“Noiz—“

“So, you like the taste of it?” Noiz cut him off abruptly before he could finish, his question momentarily disrupting Aoba’s thought pattern.

“…I do.”

“Good. We should call her and let her know that it went well, then,” he said casually with his mouth half full as he activated his Coil.

“Call who?”

“Grandma, of course,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Aoba’s eyes widened.

“I tried with online recipes first, but none seemed to match what I remembered,” he said, pausing to swallow his bite. “I gave it a bit of thought, then decided that my best solution is to call her after all. She was skeptical in the beginning,” he made a small frown, as if he was hurt by that fact. “But when I explained my intentions to her, she was willing to share her recipe with me. Her one condition was to call me as soon as you arrive home and try them out, though.”

So, Aoba’s instincts were right after all – there _was_ another thing that Noiz hadn’t been telling him about.

“Why didn’t you tell me right away?” Aoba breathed, still looking at Noiz with wonder.

“I wanted to leave it as a surprise for the end. And also,” Noiz suddenly smirked, reaching with his hand and tracing the corner of Aoba’s lips with his finger. “To see _that_ look on your face that you’re giving me right now.” Putting his finger away and bringing it to his own lips, he gave it a small lick. “…You had a bit of sugar on your lips,” he let him know, his look mischievous, and Aoba wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or simply launch himself at his insufferable brat.

“Jeez, you little…!” Aoba laughed, deciding to go for the easiest option - he ruffled Noiz’s hair affectionately, his heart fluttering in his chest upon seeing Noiz’s slightly timid, but still smiling expression. 

If someone had told him that this once emotionally distant, weird Rhyme kid would turn out to be the sweetest, most thoughtful boyfriend he could ever ask for, he’d probably think that they were crazy.

And yet, here he was, thinking exactly that, far happier than he thought he would be at the end of this evening.

“Let’s call Granny right away, then. She must be waiting,” Aoba said, and Noiz just nodded, readily pressing dial.

That’s how they ended up chatting their night away together with Tae on the line, eating the doughnuts they had made with mutual efforts, and slowly but surely, Aoba felt the feeling of homesickness disappear altogether.

 

He was certain of it before as well, but now, Aoba confirmed it all over again.

If Noiz was with him, he’d feel at ease, no matter where they were.

Because now, Noiz was his family. Noiz was _home_.


End file.
